HarperCollins has announced the acquisition of John Stephens' The Emerald Atlas, one of the most talked about books of the year. Considered the “book of the fair” by trade and media pundits at Bologna Book Fair, signing The Emerald Atlas is a real cue for the publisher.
The trilogy is described as being in the tradition of Narnia and Harry Potter, and is aimed at middle school aged readers. There are three orphaned kids who have to find three magic books while discovering the secrets of their history. Of course, they also have to defeat an “evil and devastating foe”, announced the press release.
Although this is John Stephens' first foray into book publishing, he was an an executive producer for seasons two and three of Gossip Girl. He has also been a producer and writer on The O.C. and Gilmore Girls, and has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Virginia.
The auction to sign UK and Commonwealth rights from Angharad Kowal, acting in the UK on behalf of Simon Lipskar of Writers House literary agency, was hotly fought, but Nick Lake, HarperCollins UK Editorial Director, won through in the end. Separate international deals and rights for the trilogy have already been sold to the US, Germany, Italy, France, Norway, Holland, and Brazil, with more expected to follow very shortly.
“It's so rare that a book like this comes along; one whose characters you genuinely fall in love with, and whose writing feels so instantly classic,” said Nick Lake. “This wonderful book caused an unprecedented rush of excitement in everyone who read it at HarperCollins. The entire children’s department loves this book, and we could not be more thrilled to have it on our list.”
HarperCollins will launch The Emerald Atlas in 2011.
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